Monday, February 29, 2016

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Saint Oswald died in 29 February 992. His feast is observed on the last day the month, which in most years is 28 February, but one quarter of the time, in leap years, the last day of the month just happens to be the true date, 29 February. Happy leap day!

Scripture of the DayMass Readings
The Second Book of Kings, chapter five, verses one thru fifteen(b);
Psalm Forty-two, verses two & three & Psalm Forty-three, verses three & four;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter four, verses twenty-four thru thirty.

Super Boat Warp, "A Path to the Stars" from the Fire All Weapons! E.P. (The Last Angry Spaceman)

Captain's Log:

"This is what we always wanted,
Another chance to be openhearted,
Together we will live forever,
Together we will live forever,
Together we will live forever.

"Sometimes its really hard to steer,
The course is not quite straight and true,
I thought I done my best I could,
But I guess I had left some room.
So tear my heart from my chest,
Take my lungs, steal my breath,
I am yours for you to take,
For you to love, for you to hate.

"This is what we always wanted,
Another chance to be openhearted,
Together we will live forever,
Together we will live forever,
You'll be my greatest endeavor."

ApologiesThanks to K. Steeze. I'm notnow entirely certain of the third-to-last word in "A Path to the Stars."

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Skammentary: Last night at dinner, I mentioned ska as my favorite music & described the preposterous nature of Flint's best band being formed by a bunch of ska kids a decade-plus after 1997's Summer of Ska. On the drive home, Aunt Charlie, who had never before heard of ska, used her smartphone to search for the genre. I'd mentioned Reel Big Fish, so she gravitated to them in her search results. She liked "Sell Out," but really liked "Beer." So, this one's for her!

*Code Name: CHAOS
No, her name is neither Charlotte nor Charlene; "Aunt Charlie" as in the latter C in the N.A.T.O. phonetic alphabet. Aunt Charlie is married to Uncle Bravo & is the mother of my cousins Mike, Mike (neither of whom is named Michael), & Juliett—the second Mike is a lass & Juliett is a lad.

Scripture of the WeekMass Readings
The Book of Exodus, chapter three, verses one thru eight(a) & thirteen thru fifteen;
Psalm One Hundred Three, verses one thru four, six thru eight, & eleven;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter ten, verses one thru six & ten thru twelve;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter thirteen, verses one thru nine;

Commentary: The words you speak, the words I speak, do they build up others? Or do those words tear down others? We shall all have to account for what we have said, & what we have not said.

"Speak life! Speak life!
To the deadest, darkest night.
Speak life! Speak life!
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted,
Watch 'em come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak—
You speak life!
You speak life!…

"Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire.
Hope will fall like rain
When you speak life with the words you say.

"Raise your thoughts a little higher,
Use your words to inspire.
Joy will fall like rain
When you speak life with the things you say…"

Personal ReadingIntroduction to the Pentateuch;Introduction to the Book of Genesis;Introduction to the Book of Exodus;
The Book of Exodus, chapter one (verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Exodus, chapter two, verses one thru twenty-two.

The Phenomenauts, "Man Alone" from For All Mankind (The Last Angry Spaceman)

Captain's Log: In watching a mostly disappointing television special ostensibly about the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope—but that spend precious little time on the technical details of the Webb & far too much in arrogant, dime-store philosophizing—an astronaut who'd flown five missions on the Space Shuttle, including three service missions to the venerable Hubble Space Telescope, offered that he would happily leave the earth forever on a generation ship (Wikipedia-link) to an extrasolar planet (or "exoplanet"), even though only his grandchildren or great-grandchildren would ever see the alien world. That's a bold statement. (Or maybe not; it could be an idle boast given the current limits of manned spaceflight, but I for one take the man at his word.)

It is a statement made in confidence that we are all in this together, that when Neil Armstrong set first set foot on the Moon it was indeed, in his eloquent words, "one giant leap for Mankind." It was not solely his triumph, it was out triumph—even mine, though I would not be born for another decade. Whenever we develop interstellar spaceflight, whether through faster-than-light propulsion, suspended animation technology, or generational spacecraft, the bond that connects all of us will not be severed, not even by nigh-unbridgeable celestial distances. We on the good earth will still be connected to those on strange new worlds. We will miss them & they will miss us, even as we remain committed to our separate courses. As the plaque attached to the descent stage of the lunar module reads, "They came in peace for all Mankind." As it was then, so it is now, & so must it always be.

"All of us,
We should have a mission,
We should have a purpose,
It's in our bones.
What's a man
If he has no ambition?
A truncated vision.
He's a man alone.
(He's a man alone!)

"This is the story of a generation,
An ageless nation. Are we alone?
The days and weeks have started bleeding,
We're in dire need of something bold.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. The Holy Redeemer bulletin contains a short hagiography of St. Matthias the Apostle (14 May), who succeeded the betrayer Judas Iscariot. St. Matthias's feast was on 24 February (25 February in leap years) before the last great revision to the General Roman Calendar in 1969-1970, but has been on 14 May for the last four & half decades. Curious, that.

Scripture of the DayMass Readings
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter seventeen, verses five thru ten;
Psalm One, verses one thru four & six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter sixteen, verses nineteen thru thirty-one.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-seven, verses thirteen thru thirty-one;
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-eight (verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-nine (verses one thru thirty-three);
The Book of Genesis, chapter fifty (verses one thru twenty-six).

Thus concludes Genesis. I'm next (more or less) going to read the Book of Exodus, I'm just not yet sure if first I'll take an interlude in the New Testament. I'm not really planning to read Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy after Exodus, but mayhap I should; after all, I do desire to read all of the Old Testament, so why delay? I greatly enjoyed the series of readings from the lives of King David & King Solomon (1 & 2 Samuel) in the brief Ordinary Time 'twixt Christmas & this Lent, but should I read the histories so far out of order?

"You got to keep on pushing forward to the sky,
You got to fight gravity until the day you die!…"

The Red Bull Stratos project may not have been the "mission to the edge of space" it was trumpeted as—the Kármán line, situated sixty miles, or one hundred kilometers, above sea level is typically considered the boundary 'twixt Earth's atmosphere & outer space; Felix Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of twenty-four miles, or thirty-nine kilometers—we here at The Secret Base salute the record-setting leap, both as an individual achievement & for the spirit of adventure & exploration it encapsulated & still represents.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-three (verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-four (verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-five (verses one thru twenty-eight);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-six (verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty-seven, verses one thru twelve.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Go Sailor, "Fine Day for Sailing" from Go Sailor (The Last Angry Spaceman)

Captain's Log: We'll take our problems with us into outer space. We'll be as unlucky in love on Titan as we are here on Earth. Again, this is not to say that we shouldn't go—the very opposite, in fact—but we should go in the knowledge that the act of going will not be a panacea for what ails us, for our all-too-human foibles.

"This is the last time that I'll wish you dead,
I think I've decided to like you instead,
I'll throw away the letters that I never meant to send,
'Cause now I've got more love to give than to rend.

"Therefore, this time I mean it,
This time will stick,
You're easy to like when you're not making me sick…

"I've become quite adapt at pretending you're nice,
If you won't believe it, pretending will have to suffice…

"So, I'll take the pins out of the doll,
I'll take the darts out of the wall,
I'm just so nice now, I'm not like before,
I don't think of hurting you much anymore…"

At (age) eighty-six, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him & he was finally killed by a dagger. He is probably the last surviving person to have known as apostle, having been a disciple of St. John (27 December). This was one reason he was greatly revered as a teacher & church leader.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna & a disciple of the apostles, was born sometime between the years 75-80 to Christian parents. According to St. Irenaeus (28 June), in his preaching he constantly referred to the teachings of St. John the Evangelist & other eyewitnesses of the life of Christ. While St. Ignatius of Antioch (17 October) was on his way to Rome to suffer martyrdom, he entrusted the Church of Antioch to the care of Polycarp. About the year 155 he suffered martyrdom by burning at the stake in the amphitheater at Smyrna. He imitated Christ to the very end saying, "For eighty-six years I have served Jesus Christ & he has never abandoned me. How could I curse my blessed King & Savior?"

Monday, February 22, 2016

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Battle of Verdun, Part I
21 February 1916: The longest battle of the war began with a massive German artillery bombardment (over 1,000,000 shells were fired); the plan was to "bleed France dry," to incense the French into committing all their reserves into a series of suicidal infantry attacks that would be annihilated by the gathered German heavy guns; the French knew the attack was coming, but dismissed it as a feint.

Lest we forget.

Commentary: Verdun was fought between the French & the Germans, so it does not occupy the same place in the Anglophone imagination as the contemporaneous but British-fought Battle of the Somme. Yet Verdun was every bit as much the First World War in microcosm: helmeted infantry attacking out of trenches across shell-cratered No Man's Land, throwing themselves against barbed wire & machine-gun fire while clouds of poison gas drift across the weird, treeless moonscape. I won't lie to you: Things are going to get much, much worse before they begin to get even a little better.

Thirty years ago last Friday, 19 February 1986, the first module of the Mir space station was launched by the Soviet Union. Mir, meaning "Peace," was the first modular space station, & during its operational lifetime (1986-2001) was the largest artificial satellite in existence; Mir's crews also set records for longest-duration human spaceflights & longest continuous human presence, records only later surpassed by the International Space Station (I.S.S.). The Mir would survive the demise of the Soviet Union & would continue in Russian service for years past its design life. The space station was finally de-orbited in 2001 due to the reallocation of the resources necessary to maintain the aging station's hardware to the construction of the new I.S.S. The first of Mir's eventual seven module was launched into orbit, thirty years ago last week.

Fifty-four years ago last Saturday, 20 February 1962, John Glenn (born 1921) became the first American (& third human, after two Soviet cosmonauts) to orbit the Earth, aboard his Mercury spacecraft, the Friendship 7. Colonel Glenn, U.S.M.C., was the third astronaut from the original "Mercury Seven" to fly in space, after Alan Shepard & "Gus" Grissom, though both Shepard's & Grissom's flights had been suborbital (aboard the Freedom 7 & Liberty Bell 7, respectively). Such was Glenn's fame upon his return to terra firma that he was not again permitted to fly in space; whereas Grissom went on to fly the first manned Gemini mission, Gemini 3, as the command pilot of the Molly Brown before dying in the Apollo 1 disaster; & Shepard became the fifth man to walk on the Moon as the commander of Apollo 14 (command module: Kitty Hawk, lunar module: Antares), also becoming the first man to golf on the Moon. Thirty-six years later, while still serving as a United States Senator from Ohio, Glenn finally returned to space as a Payload Specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (O.V.-103) during S.T.S.-95, from 29 October-7 November 1998. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, fifty-four years ago last week.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-eight (verses one thru thirty);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-nine (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Book of Genesis, chapter forty (verses one thru twenty-three).

St. Peter Damian was born in Ravenna in 1007. After completing his studies he began to teach but soon abandoned this & entered the hermitage of Fonte Avellana where, once elected prior, he promoted the religious life with such fervor that all of Italy was affected by his renewal. During calamitous times he helped the Roman pontiffs through his works & writings & by various missions on behalf of Church reform. He was created bishop & cardinal of Ostia by Pope Stephen IX. Peter Damian died in 1072 & soon afterward was venerated a saint. He was declared a doctor of the Church in 1828.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Holy Smoke" from Don't Know How to Party (The Last Angry Man)

Skammentary: While at first blush "Holy Smoke" might appear to be an anti-religious song, closer examination reveals a repulsion a hypocritical religiosity, a complaint near & dear to our Savior's Sacred Heart & a key feature of his Earthly ministry. Thus, we here at The Secret Base think "Holy Smoke" a fine R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for the Lord's Day.

"Fast at passing judgment and quick to cast a stone,
Hypocrite talking shit, leave me alone,
Thump the book and twist the word,
You're setting sinners straight,
Point your finger, wag your tongue,
Then pass around the plate…

"Holy smoke! Is this a joke?
I mean, man, you're on the move,
Shut 'em up and shut 'em down
If you don't approve,
Cuss and curse and stuff your purse,
And tell me where I'm goin',
Holy cow, man, don't stop now,
Your bank account is growin'…"

Commentary: Deuteronomy charges us to obey the Lord's commands; in Matthew, the Lord commands us to pray for our enemies. Praying for our enemies is not optional, it is a requirement of our faith; to do so is no credit to us, it is the least we need to do to be in right relationship with God.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-four (verses one thru thirty-one);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-five (verses one thru twenty-nine).

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-one (verses one thru fifty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-two (verses one thru thirty-three);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty-three (verses one thru twenty).

They Might Be Giants, "How Many Planets?" from Here Comes Science (The Last Angry Spaceman)

Captain's Log: I was debating 'twixt two songs about asteroids when modern astronomical parlance knocked on the door of my mind, reminding me that Ceres, being in hydrostatic balance—that is, rounded by its own gravity— is no longer classified as an asteroid, but as a dwarf planet. I knew "How Many Planets?" would work its way into the R.B.D.S.O.T.D.'s celebration of outer space through the lens of the "Visions of the Future" poster series, but I wasn't sure where 'til I considered the strange case of Ceres, "Queen of the Asteroid Belt."

"Mercury,
Venus,
Earth,
Mars,
Asteroid Belt: Ceres, Pallas, Vesta,
And a bunch of other stuff,
Jupiter,
Saturn,
Uranus,
Neptune,
Don't forget about Pluto,
Eris, and a bunch of other stuff.

"Mercury,
Venus,
Earth,
Mars,
Jupiter,
Saturn,
Uranus,
Neptune,
And a bunch of other stuff,
(And a bunch of other stuff,)
And a bunch of other stuff,
(And a bunch of other stuff,)
And a bunch of other stuff!"

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-seven (verses one thru forty-six);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-eight (verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-nine (verses one thru thirty-five);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirty (verses one thru forty-three).

Captain's Log: "Mars" is a children's song about the Red Planet, including fictional but scientifically accurate testimony from the Sojourner rover, which landed on Mars in 1997. In this instance we've chosen cold, hard facts over any of the more poetic songs about Mars.

"It has had a visitor
That we sent to look around.
This visitor was a little car
Riding on the ground…

"I was the visitor and my name is Sojourner. I had a partner by the name of Pathfinder, and we took a lot of pictures and sent them all back to Earth so that everyone could see what Mars really looks like. It has lots of rocks and even has mountains, and the soil is kind of reddish orange."

They received (a) vision of our Lady, who bore in her hand a black habit while an angel held a scroll inscribed with the title Servants of Mary. She told them she had chosen them to be her servants, that she wished them to wear the black habit, & to follow the Rule of St. Augustine. From that date, 13 April 1240, they were known as the Servants of Mary, or Servites.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Seven men, born at Florence, began an eremitical life on Monte Senario with a particular veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Later they preached throughout Tuscany & founded the Order of Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, approved by the Holy See in 1304. Alexis Falconieri, one of the seven, died on this day in 1310.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-four, verses ten thru sixty-seven;
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-five (verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-six (verses one thru thirty-five).

Commentary: Isaac & Rebekah continued, the death of Abraham, & the birth of Esau & Jacob.

Genesis, 26 contains a story that is virtually identical to parts of Genesis, 20 & 21, though with Isaac & Rebekah in the roles previous played by Abraham & Sarah. The footnotes describe this as the result of two earlier sources, much as with the repeated Creation stories in Genesis, 1 & 2 or the differing accounts of the Flood in Genesis, 6 & 7. So far, there have been references to the "Yahwist source," the "Elohist source," & the "Priestly source."

Captain's Log: The choice of today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D. betrays the dirty little secret about science fiction: it's all about the familiar. Every story about a strange, new world is really a story about the earth. Every story about extraterrestrial life, no matter how alien, is really a story about Mankind. "There is nothing new under the sun" is ancient wisdom from the Bible (Ecclesiastes, 1:9). There is nothing new even under other suns: "Even the thing of which we say, 'See this is new!' has already existed in the ages that preceded us" (Ecclesiastes, 1:10). By all means we should probe the depths of the sea here on Earth & challenge the unknown among the stars. To question, to discover, to explore are all part of Man's nature. We must "explore strange new worlds," we should hope to seek out "new life & new civilizations," & we dare strive to do no less than "boldly go where no man has gone before." But as with all frontiers, what we are really doing when we explore the final frontier is testing ourselves, is seeking to solve the great mystery of who we are, of what it means to have been created in the image & likeness of the divine. We plumb the farthest reaches of the cosmos in order to now & understand our own hearts, our own minds, our own souls.

"When you're on a holiday
You can't find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I want to feel it, too…

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-two (verses one thru twenty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-three (verses one thru twenty);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-four, verses one thru fourteen;
The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter one (verses one thru eighteen).

Commentary: The binding of Isaac, the death & burial of Sarah, & Issac & Rebekah.

Captain's Log: "Blue Sky" is about leaving Earth, though more in the sense of shuffling off this mortal coil than in the sense of leaving on a jet plane. Methinks this apropos, given that though we think of the earth as our home, it is so for only the briefest of spans. This is our homeworld, but even those of us who will never slip the bonds of gravity are only visitors.

"Blue sky,
Got my angel by my side,
Never been up this high,
Getting ready with a heart ready to see,
I know you'll be coming for me,
I wish, I wish I could have known,
That someday, that someday
I'd have all these stupid things to say,
This was home to me once,
But now I think I'll give it away,
I'm gonna give it away…"

Monday, February 15, 2016

The Phenomenauts, "Infinite Frontier" from For All Mankind (The Last Angry Spaceman)

Captain's Log: I thrill at the "Visions of the Future" poster series commissioned by N.A.S.A.'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For the next little while, 'til the posters are exhausted or I grow bored, whichever comes first, we will be conducted an audio-visual fête of the future that might yet be.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter seventeen (verses one thru twenty-seven);
The Book of Genesis, chapter eighteen (verses one thru thirty-three);
The Book of Genesis, chapter nineteen (verses one thru thirty-eight);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Genesis, chapter twenty-one (verses one thru thirty-four);
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-nine (verses one thru twenty-one).

Chapter twenty is difficult, because it echoes the incident in Egypt related in chapter twelve, but presents Abraham as much more of a villain, seemingly a blatant extortionist. Scripture is full of the righteous falling short of righteousness—St. Peter's threefold denial of the Christ in the wee small hours of Good Friday, St. Paul's enthusiastic persecution of the Church & complicity in the martyrdom of St. Stephen—but in other cases the wrongdoing is made plain & contrition & repentance follow shortly thereafter. Abraham does not appear to think he's done anything wrong, though the next chapter makes clear that the man he extorted, King Abimelech of Gerar, regards Abraham as a shady character. This is hard; I shall hope that the import of this troubling writing will be made plain through prayerful reflection.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Operation AXIOM: The World War
12 February 1916: The Battle of Salaita Hill—a British & Imperial offensive, under the command of (later Field Marshal) Jan Smuts, into German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) was thwarted in the vicinity of Kilimanjaro; both sides supplemented their artillery with cannon salvaged from ships sunk off the now-Tanzanian coast in the first year of the war.

These two saints were proclaimed co-patrons of Europe by Pope (St.) John Paul II (22 October) in 1980. St. Cyril was born in Thessalonica & educated in Constantinople. He & his brother, St. Methodius, went to Moravia to preach the faith. They both prepared Slavic texts in what became known as the Cyrillic alphabet. Both were summoned to Rome, where St. Cyril died on this day in 869, while Methodius was consecrated bishop & went to Pannonia where he tirelessly preached the Gospel. Though suffering much from detractors, he received assistance from the popes. Methodius died on 6 April 885 in Velehrad, (

sic) Czechoslovakia.Research indicates that Velehrad is located in the Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia having split into the sovereign Czech & Slovak Republics in 1993.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter eleven, verses ten thru thirty-two;
The Book of Genesis, chapter twelve (verses one thru twenty);
The Book of Genesis, chapter thirteen (verses one thru eighteen);
The Book of Genesis, chapter fourteen (verses one thru twenty-four).

Commentary: The early adventures of the patriarch Abram, his wife Sarai, & his nephew Lot.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Ataris, "Giving Up on Love" from End Is Forever (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: Once upon a time, "before the dark times, before the Empire," The Ataris used to right our best songs of love gone terribly wrong. Those Ataris are gone, but the music remains. (Dang it, that's just too upbeat an observation for Anti-Valentine's week! This next bit should balance the scales back towards gloom.)

"This last few weeks, I've been convinced,
Sometimes I wonder if I'm better off alone.
You fall in love, they break your heart,
Your fall in love again, it's never ending.

"I used to have this friend, who took his fiancee
To see Billy Idol a couple weeks before their wedding day.
The chick got backstage and left my friend outside.
The next day she called from a hotel asking for a ride.

"I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love, yeah,
'Cause it really kind of sucks!…

"I guess I'm giving up on love.
I guess I'm giving up on love.
It's just not worth it!
I guess I'm giving up on love,
'Cause it really kind of—"

Operation AXIOM: Be My Anti-Valentine
Because tomorrow is a Sunday, the Lord's Day, "the day we cannot live without," we shall denounce the cynical contemporary celebration of Valentine's Day today instead. I've loved this week's cavalcade of anti-love songs so much I'm actually considering a whole 'nother week of the same. There's nothing wrong with romantic love—eros. Romantic live is beautiful. Romantic live is right. What is ugly & wrong is the notion that romantic love can only—or even best—be expressed through the gifting of jewel-encrusted precious metals, chocolates, & heart-strewn stuffed animals. I'm not only a capitalist, I'm a believer in the social utility of well-crafted marketing. But there are, there must be limits of taste & common decency. I love love, which is why I hate, hate, hate Valentine's Day. Be my anti-Valentine.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter nine, verses eighteen thru twenty-nine;
The Book of Genesis, chapter ten (verses one thru thirty-two);
The Book of Genesis, chapter eleven, verses one thru nine.

"Well, I have been saving my money for many a year,
Sold me out to the cable man—Woah, my dear!
You say you're not guilty,
Oh, you say you been telling the truth,
But I caught you kissing the other boy,
And lying is just more proof.

Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in honor of the Marian apparitions in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes, France. She appeared on seventeen occasions that year, until the climax revelation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception took place.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times at a grotto in Lourdes from 11 February until 16 July 1858. The Blessed Virgin Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Conception & asked that a shrine be built there. Pilgrims still flock to Lourdes to pray to Mary Immaculate & to drink & bathe in the miraculous water that began to flow from the place where she appeared.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter seven (verses one thru twenty-four);
The Book of Genesis, chapter eight (verses one thru twenty-two);
The Book of Genesis, chapter nine, verses one thru seventeen;
Psalm One, verse five.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

We are well rid of Michael Lewis, methinks, having abandoned Flash Boys just short of the halfway point. Life is too short & there are too many great books I'll never have the chance to read to stick with a rotten book, however well-intended it might be.

I am going to rediscover Rediscover Jesus a chapter a day throughout Lent.

Currently
Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church
Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation

Presently
Rice Broocks, God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty
Richard Price, Clockers
Sir Richard Francis Burton, translator, "Sinbad the Sailor" from The Arabian Nights
Sir Ernest Shackleton, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations
Hilaire Belloc, How the Reformation Happened
(Rev.) Michael White & Tom Corcoran, Rebuilt: The Story of a Catholic Parish
William F. Buckley Jr., The Unmaking of a Mayor
Jon Baird with Kevin Costner & Stephen Meyer, The Explorers Guild, Volume One: A Passage to Shambhala
Scott & Kimberly Hahn, Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism
Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World
(A.K.A. Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War)

St. Scholasica is the twin sister of St. Benedict (11 July). They were born in Norcia, Italy. She consecrated herself to God from her earliest years. She entered a monastery near Monte Cassino where her brother Benedict was. Once when Benedict & Scholastica were visiting each other, Scholastica wanted Benedict to wait until the following day to return to his monastery, but Benedict refused. Then Scholastica prayed to God & such a violent thunderstorm arose that Benedict & his companions could not leave the house.

Personal Reading
The Book of Genesis, chapter five (verses one thru thirty-two);
The Book of Genesis, chapter six (verses one thru twenty-two);
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-nine (verses one thru twenty-four).

"I went out with a girl just a little while,
And I loved her so, though she cramped my style,
'Cause every time I'd reach she'd turn away,
And every time I'd call she'd turn and say,
'I'm sorry, Dave, I've got no time,
I've got my life, my life is mine.'
So after a year or maybe more,
I finally got a clue, and I found the door…

"So a single man is what I am
And I'll play the field, do what I can.
I meet a girl, she seems alright,
So I say hello and I spend the night.
Next thing I know she's at my door
And she's calling my house about every hour,
I know it's my fault 'cause I set my own trap,
But all I want now is my solitude back…

"So I meet a girl I know is right,
She's got it all, she's just my type,
So I take it slow, and show her I'm real,
And I treat her right, show how I feel.
Next thing you know I'm so in love,
And it's only her that I'm thinking of,
But I was such a fool, I can see today,
Should have known from the start that the girl was gay.

"Well, I've done it before and I'll do it again,
I've seen the path and I've seen its end,
I've said it before and I'll say it again,
I think I'm better off just dating Miss Michigan!"

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Operation AXIOM: The World War
10 January-16 February 1916: The Erzurum Offensive—a Russian winter assault caught the Ottoman army unprepared & under-strength, before forces could be transferred from Gallipoli; the second-best defended city in Turkey surrendered after only four days of shelling; the Ottoman supply chain was hamstrung by their ongoing genocidal campaign against the Armenians.

Scripture of the WeekMass Readings
The Book of Isaiah, chapter six, verses one thru two(a) & three thru eight;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-eight, verses one thru five, seven, & eight;
The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses one thru eleven;
(or, the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses three thru eight & eleven);
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter five, verses one thru eleven.

Using his own money, he rented a house for the orphans, fed them, clothed them, & educated them. He committed his whole life & all he owned to helping others. He is the patron saint of abandoned children & orphans.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Jerome was born in Venice in 1486. He first embraced the military; but when he was liberated from imprisonment through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he made a vow to dedicate himself to her service. He dedicated himself to helping the poor, distributing to them his own possessions. His motto was "Anyone who would not work should not eat" (2 Thes., 3:10). He founded the Order of Clerks regular of Somascha, which supported orphan boys & the poor. He died of the plague in 1537 with the names of Jesus & Mary on his Lips. In 1928 Pope Pius XI named him patron of orphans & infants.

At her canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope (St.) John Paul II (22 October) said that in St. Josephine Bakhita, "We find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls & women from oppression & violence, & to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights."

Scripture of the DayMass Readings
The First Book of Kings, chapter eight, verses one thru seven & nine thru thirteen;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-two, verses six thru ten;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses fifty-three thru fifty-six;

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "She Just Happened" from Pay Attention (The Last Angry Man)

Skammentary: Welcome to the bitterest, most contrarian week of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D.'s whole year. Leave the already-dead flowers to wilt without water, throw out the heart-shaped box of chocolates, & grind into powder those chalky candies with the insipid messages like "BE MINE" & "I LUV U." Pour yourself a stiff drink, resist the temptation to drunk dial your ex, & set your countenance into its fiercest scowl. Things may look bad now, but they're going to get much worse before they get better.

"From there it went nowhere
And I'm glad it fell apart,
The next thing I remember, here we are.
Not to diminish what it was,
Well, there's no reason to because
Ago it was so long and away it seems so far…

"What just happened?
She just happened,
She just happened to cross my mind,
Without warning she crossed my mind,
She just happened to me…"

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Commentary: In this Sunday's first reading, the prophet Isaiah professes his unworthiness to serve the Lord, citing his unclean lips. In the second reading, the apostle St. Paul professes his unworthiness to serve the Lord, citing his persecution of the Church. In the Gospel reading, the apostle St. Peter professes his unworthiness to serve the Lord, citing his unspecified sinfulness. Hence the old saw, "The Lord doesn't call the qualified, the Lord qualifies the called."

More directly to Mr. Kristofferson's point in "Why Me" is Psalm Eight, verse five (Ps. 8:5), which reads:

"What is man that You are mindful of him,
A son of man that You care for him?"

St. Paul joined the Jesuits in 1580, & became known for his eloquent preaching. He was crucified with twenty-four other Catholics during the persecution of Christians under the

Taikō, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

This group of twenty-six Christians suffered martyrdom on 5 February 1597 near Nagasaki, Japan. St. Paul MIki was born in Japan between 1564-1566. He entered the Society of Jesus & preached the Gospel to the people with great success. But during the oppressive persecution of Catholics, he & his companions were all crucified by being attached the crosses with ropes & chains & then put to death by the thrust of a lance. As St. Paul Miki was being crucified, he continued to preach to the crowd.

She is a Christian saint & virgin martyress. She is one of seven women, who, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Agatha suffered martyrdom at Catania in Sicily in 250. From antiquity her cult spread throughout the Church. A virgin martyr, St. Agatha is a model of purity, chastity, & dedication to Christ. Because of her martydom, she is invoked against diseases of the breast & outbreaks of fire. Her name Agatha means "good" in Greek.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Joan of Valois, Religious, O.Ann.M. (1464-1505, A.K.A. Queen Joan of France, the Duchess of Berry), foundress of the Sisters of the Annunciation, formally the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.Ann.M.

Scripture of the DayMass Readings
The First Book of Kings, chapter two, verses one thru four & ten thru twelve;
The First Book of Chronicles, chapter twenty-nine, verses ten thru eleven(b) & eleven(d) thru twelve(d);
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter six, verses seven thru thirteen.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

We don't go in for true crime all that much here at The Secret Base, but we do make exceptions: B.B.C.-link. In this instance the murder & decades-long international manhunt has a connection to "The Explorers' Club," the case having been the subject of an episode back in 2010: № CLXI.

From being a healer of bodily ailments, St. Blaise became a physician of souls, then retired for a time, by divine inspiration, to a cavern where he remained in prayer. As he was being lead to jail, a mother sent her only sons, choking to deal of a fish bone, at his feet, & the child was cured straight away.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. Blase was the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia during the fourth century. His cuilt spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages. During the persecution of Christians by Licinius (320-324), the governor of Cappadocia imprisoned Blase in a cave outside Sebaste. It is said that wild beasts came to him to be cured. it is also said that a mother came to the bishop, asking him to cure her son who was chocking on a fish bone stuck in his throat, & the bishop saved the lad with a prayer & the sign of the cross. For that reason, St. Blase is venerated as patron of those suffering from diseases of the throat. He was condemned to death & beheaded in 316. Traditionally, two blessed candles are tied in the form of a St. Andrew's cross & applied to the throat while the priest announced a special invocation to St. Blase to protect the individual against diseases of the throat.

St. Ansgar was a Germanic Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a mission to bring Christianity to Northern Europe, & Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North."

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. Ansgar was born in France at the beginning of the ninth century. In 826 he preached the faith in Denmark with little success but later labored to greater effect in Sweden. Appointed archbishop of Hamburg by Pope Gregory IV, he was sent as a legate to Denmark & Sweden. There he met with many difficulties in the work of preaching the Gospel but bravely overcame them. He died in 865.

or, for St. Blaise's Memorial,
The Letter to the Romans, chapter five, verses one thru five;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verses fifteen thru twenty;